Mateus Fernandes transfer news: Tottenham agree £85m deal ahead of Manchester United for West Ham midfielder
Tottenham agree deal to sign West Ham's Mateus Fernandes for £85m; Manchester United pushed hard for Portugal midfielder but were not sure of his desire to play for club and were not willing to overpay for 21-year-old
Tuesday 30 June 2026 19:02, UK
Tottenham have agreed a deal to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham.
The fee is understood to be £85m, and the player is now preparing to undergo a medical.
That figure would smash Tottenham's transfer record, which was a £65m deal for Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in August 2024.
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Manchester United were also pursuing Fernandes, and pushed hard to sign him, but they will only buy players at the right valuation.
If completed, the deal will easily surpass Tottenham's transfer record, which was the £65m they paid for Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth in August 2024.
Decision-makers inside West Ham believe Fernandes was one of the best young players in the Premier League last season and has the potential to become as good as Declan Rice, who was sold to Arsenal for £105m in 2023.
'Fernandes would be a great signing - they just have to get it done now'
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"It is great news for Tottenham fans and there will be a lot of excitement as this is something we have never really seen before - they are having a real go in the market, the previous regime would never have done this.
"There have been a couple of reasons - the two relegation fights have not been ideal for the fans and board and they've had enough. And with Arsenal winning the title, it has almost embarrassed Spurs into action, now we have to act and start buying some proper players.
"And [Sandro] Tonali and Fernandes are the sort of players the Tottenham midfield have been crying out for. They have not had that quality in there, they've had players who work really hard.
"Hopefully they can get the players in as they are going to be a force next year and right now, if you look at them, there is no reason why they can't have a right go next year. It has been a great window for them, they've moved fast, which is something we never saw before and I am a big fan of Fernandes, who was very unfortunate not to be in Portugal's squad.
"And for Tottenham, this would be a great signing - they just have to get it done now."
'This is a mega statement of intent'
Sky Sports News reporter Michael Bridge:
"It is quite incredible news - we knew Spurs had gone head to head in the last few weeks with Man Utd for the transfer of Fernandes from West Ham, who were insistent they wanted £85m for a player they believe is going to be one of the best midfielders in world football.
"There was original interest from Man Utd, Spurs we know have been interested in Sandro Tonali, but what we do know is that Fernandes was then interested in Spurs - so it was a straight fight between Spurs and United.
"And it looks like Spurs are now going to win the race to sign Fernandes. This is a humongous deal - Spurs' previous record transfer was Dominic Solanke for around £65m. At the end of last season, they said they were going to spend big in the next two windows and this is a mega statement of intent."
Analysis: Relegated twice - so why is Fernandes worth £85m?
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:
Last season, Fernandes proved his status as one of the Premier League's toughest tacklers and it's a feature that stands out for those who know him.
"That's no surprise that his tackling stats are very high," Simon Rusk, who worked with Fernandes at Southampton, tells Sky Sports.
"Both speaking to him and observing him, I could see that would be a feature in his game - and a strength."
Alongside the tough-tackling nature is a lot of high-intensity running to get to the challenge in the first place.
Fernandes sits in the top 10 Premier League midfielders for distance covered. And again, it follows the same pattern: if Anderson is the best first-choice option on the market, then Fernandes is pretty much the next best option available.
It wasn't always the plan when Fernandes was signed by Southampton; he was seen by then boss Russell Martin as a more advanced option.
"He was used a little bit more as a No 10, a little bit more of an advanced role," he says. "But when I spoke to Matty through conversations with him, quite apparently, he saw himself as more of an all-round midfield player, more of a No 8.
"And that would lend himself to the defensive side of the game. What Matty wanted to do, he wanted to run. He wanted to be involved in the game as much as possible.
"But certainly, looking at his performances at West Ham this year, he certainly moved forward in terms of his game intelligence and mixed in with his strength, his tenacity and his engine."
West Ham noticed that desire for Fernandes to play slightly deeper too - using him mainly as a hybrid option between a No 6 and a No 8 in the season just gone.
